Slot closure



o. A. COLBY hay 17,1932.

SLOT CLOSURE Filed Feb. 28, 1931 INVENTOR Ora A. Golby.

WTNESSES:

r J//ATTORNEY Patenta& May 17 1932 ORA .A. COLBY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOB TO WESTINGEOUSE 'ELECTRIC &a MAN U- FACTURING COMPANY, A ,CORPORATION'OF PENNSYLVANIA SLOT GLOSURE Application mearebruary 28, 1931. Serial No. :519,044.

- My invention relates to horizontal-chamber.

heat-treating urnaces of the endless-'overhead-conveyor type and more particularly to means for scaling the top Slots in such furnaces. a

An object of my invention is to provide'a relatively simple and eflicient closure means for the top slot of a furnace of the above specified type.

In practicing my invention, I provide, in combination with an endless overhead conveyor for heat-treating furnaces embodying depending material-supporting members of relatively large lateral width and resilient arcuate sheets mounted on the roof-wall structure of the furnace to frictionally engage the widened portions of the materialsupporting members.

In the single sheet of drawings,

Figure 1 is a View, in vertical lateral section, through a horizontal-chamber furnace with which the devices embodyingmy invention are associated.

Fig. 2 is a View, in side elevation, of a portion of the conveyor mechanism, and

Figi 3 is a schematic top plan Vlew of a furnace installation.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, I have there illustrated a horizontal-chamber furnace structure 11 embodying a concrete base 12, a floor 13, side walls 14 and 16 and roofwall portions 17 and 18 which may be composed of bricks or blocks of a suitable hightemperature-resisting and heat-insulatng refractory material, usually employed for such purposes. The walls are so located and constructed as to enclose a furnace chamber 19, and the roof-wall portions 17 and 18 are spaced apart to provide a slot 21 which eX- tends longitudinally of the furnace structure to be traversed by material-supporting -ods 22 having cross bars 23 at their lower ends which are provided with hooks for directly supporting material to be heat treated and to be moved through the furnace chamber 19.

Means for supporting and moving the deending rods 22 include an endless onveyor chain 26, which may be of any sutable or desired type usually employed for such purillustration only and have omitted all irrelevant details for the purpose of Simplicity.

It is apparent that the ends of the furnace structure 11 must remain open if material is to be moved continuously through the chamber 19. It is further apparent that considerable amounts of hot air will flow upwardly and outwardly through the slot 21, -unless slot-closure means are provided.

In the present form of my invention, the slot-closure means includes cooperating movable and stationary members, the movable members being shown more particularl in Fig. 2 of the drawings as including p ates 34 carried by the material-supporting rods 22', the widths ofthe lates being such that the adjacent ends t ereof are in close proximity 'to each other.

'The stationary -means may include opposing sets of resilient sheets 36 and 37 which are of arcuate shape, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, these sheets being located in end-to-end abutting relation on the respective roof-wall portions 17 and 18 and being secured, by screws 39, to plates or bars 41 and 42 sutably mounted on, and secured to, the roof-wall portions 17 and 18. The' upper ends of the arcuate sheets 36 and 37 engage the plates 34 with a relatively light pressure, just suficient to ensure close operative engagement but not suflicient to cause excessive friction therebetween.

In order to exclude dust which may drop between the sheets 36 and 37 and the plates 34 and to prevent particles worn from the rolls 27 or the track rails 28 and 29 from falli n between the sheets and the plates, I provi e overhanging lips 43 and 44 on the plates to overhang the upper edges of the, sheets.

It is to be noted that this provides not only a protection against dust and metal particles but provides also a somewhat labyrinthine ath for any heated air which may tend to ow out between the sheets 36 and 37 and the plates 34 because of a loose fit therebetween.

I also provide upwardly extending lips 46 and 47 on the respective 'plates 34 for preventing dust and metallic particles from dropping into the slot 21.

As the endless conveyor chain 26 has a portion only of its entire length located' above the slot 21 while making a complete circuit, any dust or metallic particles which may settle in the dust catchers 46 and 47 may be removed while the latter are moving outside the furnace structure itself.

The device embodying my invention thus provides a relatively simple and eflicient closure means for the top slot in the roof-wall of a heat-treating furnace that will be effective not onl to reduce or prevent the outflow of heated ar upwardly through the slot but 'that willalso prevent dust and metallic particles from dropping into the furnace chamber through the slot.

Various modifications may be made in my invention without departin from the spirit and sco e thereof, and I esire, therefore, that on y such limitation's shall be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art or are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as m inventon:

1. In a horzontal-chamber heat-treating furnace having a slot in the roof-wall; an endless conveyor chain moving above the slot and having spaeed material-sup ortin rods depending therefrom into the s ot, sai material-supporting rods having plates dis posed end-to-end in close proximty to each other, and stationary means on the roof-wall including sets of resilient sheets of arcuate shape in lateral section located in end-to-end relation and each having one edge secured to the roof-wall adjacent to the slot and extending towards the slot and having the other edge engaging the plates carried by the'depending material-supporting rods.

2. In a horizontal-chamber heat-treating furnace having a slot in the roof-wall, an endless-conveyor chain moving over the slot, material-su porting members Secured to the chain and ependng into the slot, the width of a ortion 'of the material-supporting members ing such that their ad acent ends are in close proximity above the roof-wall, and sets of oppositely-extendng resilient'sheets of arcuate shape in lateral section located in abutting end-to-end position on the roofwall at each side of the slot, the upper ends 'engaging the two sides of the wide portions of the material-supporting members to subu stantially close the slot.

3. In a horizontal-chamber heat-treating furnace having a slot in the roof-wall, an endless conveyor chain moving above the slot and having spaced material-sup ortin rods dependin therefrom into the siht an havng latera y-extending ortions in closeendto-end relation, a slot-c osure means includ-' mg arcuate resilient sheets each having one edge' Secured to the roof-wall and having its other edge slidingly engaging the laterall extending portion of the depending r s, and means on the laterally-extending portions for preventing metal particles and dirt from dropping into the furnace chamber.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 14th day of February,

ORA A. COLBY. 

